Melee breaks out at Afghan soccer match

Published: Friday, February 15, 2002

LOUIS MEIXLERAssociated Press Writer

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP)  Swinging rifle butts, Afghan police beat back an unruly crowd pushing into Kabul's main soccer stadium, bloodying many, in a melee that marred a goodwill game Friday between peacekeepers and an Afghan team.

As a pregame ceremony went on inside the packed stadium, thousands of people outside tried to fight their way through the gates, and police waded into the crowd. Austrian peacekeepers used fire extinguishers and guard dogs to try to keep back the crowds.

Police fired warning shots in the air and beat people with tree branches, strips of rubber, the butts of their rifles and  in at least one case  a grenade launcher. Fifty Afghans were treated for injuries, mostly to the head, said German medics. Five peacekeepers were also injured when hit by fist-sized rocks thrown at them by the crowd.

None of the injuries was critical, said Capt. Graham Dunlop, the British spokesman for the peacekeeping force. The match went ahead, and the violence started to wane once play began. The peacekeepers won 3-1.

But the chaos was an ugly start to a match that symbolized the rehabilitation of Kabul's stadium, which under the former Taliban regime was used for public executions. The hardline Islamic militia also amputated the hands of criminals in the stadium  often displaying the severed limbs to the crowd. Last year, two suspected bombers were hanged from the goal posts.

During the melee, a Gurkha band played inside the stadium in a pregame ceremony. "We are struggling to move Afghanistan step by step toward peace," Information and Culture Minister Raheen Makhdoom said over the stadium loudspeakers.

Outside, an Austrian peacekeeper ran out of the crowd with blood on his face. At one of the stadium's gates, police hurled smoke grenades. People picked up the grenades and threw them back at police.

With the stadium packed to capacity with 30,000 people, several thousand people were outside pushing toward entrance gates. Men used their Afghan shawls as makeshift ropes to scale the stadium's walls. Some fell.

Once the game began, the Afghan team scored a goal in the first few minutes to wild cheers from the crowd. After forward Sayyid Tahir scored, the Afghan players jumped on him and hugged him.

Just before halftime, the peacekeepers' team  which included British, Italian, Danish, French, German, Dutch, Norwegian and Spanish players  evened the score 1-1 and then scored another two goals in the second half for a 3-1 victory.

The stadium fell into miserable shape under the Taliban, who discouraged sports. For Friday's game, the goalposts had been painted, and fresh boundary lines were drawn on a grass field that was mostly brown due to a severe drought.

"The fact that there is now a football game in a place where there were once executions is proof that the Taliban reign of terror is finally over," said Lt. Col. Dietmar Jeserich of the German peacekeeping force. "It's a good idea to have this game now and show people that these times are over."

Afghanistan was suspended from the International Olympic Committee in 1999 in part because the Taliban prohibited women from competing in sports. The Taliban, who discouraged sports, severed ties with FIFA, international soccer's governing body.

During the Taliban's rule, athletes were forced to wear beards and pants that reached down below their knees. They were also forbidden to train after 4 p.m., which was prayer time.

"Now we are free players," said Sharif, an Afghan defender who, like many Afghans, uses one name. "I am very happy and I will enjoy this a lot."

The game was organized by the British Ministry of Defense with the backing of the English Football Association and the Premier League. About half of the 3,200-member international force in Kabul is British.

English soccer giants Manchester United and Liverpool donated game ball used in one of their Premier League matches. The ball was signed by players from both teams, including David Beckham of Manchester United and Michael Owen of Liverpool.